The last traces of mercy and kindness had evaporated from his face, and he was back to being a monster. The cold, unscrupulous look in his eyes made my blood freeze, and I just knew what he intended to do with it. Frantically, I yanked to free my hand from that handcuff, but only managed cutting the metal into my wrist. At last, I stilled and gaped at him through a blur of tears.
“Please,” I begged. “A-Alessandro, please don't. It's the last thing I have of my mother. I can't lose it.”
“You should have thought about that sooner,” he said calmly. “Now it’s too late, Olivia.”
He gazed at the flames, and I was devoured with panic. “No...No...Don't...Please don't...I promise I'll behave...I'll listen...I'll do whatever you want just please don't throw it in the fire.”
He turned around and gave me a dangerous look. “Oh, you'll behave, Olivia. Trust me, you'll fucking behave,” he said, and threw away the music box in the furnace like it meant nothing to him.
Shocked by his unscrupulous cruelty, my eyes bulged and I cried out. Heavy tears rolled down my numb cheeks. A sensation of absolute pain closed around my chest as I helplessly watched the music box burn in the fireplace and slowly disappear between the wavering flames. Alessandro surveyed me with emptiness in his black gaze, completely unmoved by my tears. He rose from the seat and wended toward me, sitting on the edge of the bed. Gazing at me with strange interest, he wiped away a few tears from my face, but it wasn't kindness that drove his actions—it was cruelty. Then, his fingers lowered down my skin and he pressed them against my chin with the right amount of pressure so that he wouldn't bruise me, but still made me regard him and give him my full attention.
“The next time you pull a stunt like this, I won't go easy on you, tesoro.” His voice rang with dangerous finality. “Make one more transgression...do one more thing to displease me and you’re going to lose a family member of my own choosing.” His thumb gently brushed against my trembling lips. “Do we understand each other, Olivia?”
I swallowed and nodded in repeated jerks, eager to please the madman. He smiled as if content. “Good. Now you can go to sleep and think about what you've done.” He laid a small kiss on my forehead and the caress of his breath touched my skin. “Buona notte, bellisima.”
I didn't sleep that night. I stayed awake, feeling empty, hopeless and desperate. The next morning, Alessandro brought me breakfast, and fed it to me like I was a helpless child. Strangely enough he was kind again, but I sensed the monster lurking right beneath the surface. Employing methodical care, he uncuffed me, and even kissed the spot on my wrist where the metal bruised my skin. I didn't stir. I let him do whatever he wanted. Even when he left the door unlocked behind him after he left, I didn't make a single move to escape because I knew it was a test. Just as I knew that if I failed, he would deliver on his terrifying threat.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Present
To the absolute dismay of everybody in his close proximity, Alessandro had demanded to be released from the hospital a mere few days after waking up from a coma. Despite the doctors' persistent warnings that it wasn’t a good idea to leave the hospital before they were sure his recovery was going in the right direction; Alessandro had been his usual stubborn self, and they had no other option than to give in to his demands. Since he was returning home days earlier than he should have, we had to arrange a number of things to make sure he received proper care away from the hospital. Broderick had helped me hire a nurse who would attend to Alessandro's needs and every single one of his capricious demands. I had deliberately omitted to warn the young girl of her future boss's difficult nature because there was no time to find her a decent replacement should she refuse the position, and I had no intention to be closer to Alessandro than absolutely necessary. The few days I had kept him company in the hospital had been torture enough.
He’d spent most of the time sleeping, but when he was awake, he was a nightmare to deal with because he had thousands of questions